SANAA: Yemen&#39;s Houthis arrested three local United Nations staff, including two women, accusing them of spying for Israel, a security source from the rebel group told AFP on Sunday. &quot;Two women working for the World Food Programme were taken from their homes on Saturday&quot; in the rebel-held capital Sanaa, the source said, adding that a Yemeni man also working for the WFP was arrested that night. &quot;Security and intelligence services in Sanaa still have a list of people wanted for collaborating with the Israeli and American enemy,&quot; the source added. They are the latest in a wave of arrests targeting UN and other NGO workers, with seven other local UN staffers arrested earlier this week on accusations of colluding with Israel. Last week, the rebels raided the UN compound in Sanaa, holding 20 staffers, including 15 foreigners, inside before they were released shortly afterward. Twelve of the 15 international staffers left the country on Wednesday. The United Nations on Friday said that the Huthis had arrested 55 of its personnel since 2021. Rebel leader Abdulmalik al-Huthi has claimed that UN agencies, including the WFP and UNICEF, have participated in &quot;aggressive espionage.&quot; He accused some of them of playing a role in Israeli strikes that targeted a cabinet meeting in August, killing the rebel prime minister. Since the Gaza war began in October 2023, Yemen&#39;s Huthis have repeatedly targeted both Israel and Red Sea shipping routes in a campaign they say is in solidarity with the Palestinians. Israel has responded with heavy strikes on rebel-held areas of Yemen.

Middle East

Houthis arrested three local United Nations staff, including two women, accusing them of spying for Israel, a security source from the rebel group told AFP on Sunday.

Yemen's rebels arrest three UN staff on charges of spying for Israel

SANAA, Yemen: The UN&#39;s office in Yemen said Sunday that Houthi rebels were still holding 20 of their staff following their raid on their building in Sanaa a day earlier. On Saturday, the UN office said Houthi security forces had made an &quot;unauthorised entry&quot; into their compound, adding that the staff there were &quot;safe and accounted for&quot;. &quot;Five national staff and fifteen international staff remain detained within the compound,&quot; Jean Alam, spokesman for the UN resident coordinator, said on Sunday. The UN was in touch with the authorities in Sanaa, with the relevant member states and the government of Yemen &quot;to resolve this serious situation as swiftly as possible, end the detention of all personnel, and restore full control over its facilities in Sanaa&quot;, it added. Late on Sunday, a UN official, requesting anonymity, told AFP that UNICEF&#39;s representative in Yemen was among those detained. &quot;Peter Hawkins is among the 15 international employees detained in the complex&quot; the Houthis raided the previous day, the official said. Spying accusationsThe rebels had already stormed UN offices in Sanaa on August 31, detaining more than 11 employees, according to the UN. Those employees were suspected of spying for the United States and Israel, a senior Houthi official told AFP at the time on condition of anonymity. In a statement on Saturday, UN Secretary-General Stephane Dujarric&#39;s spokesperson said: &quot;We will continue to call for an end to the arbitrary detention of 53 of our colleagues.&quot; He was responding to a televised address on Thursday by rebel leader Abdelmalek al-Huthi. He claimed his forces had dismantled &quot;one of the most dangerous spy cells&quot;, which he said was &quot;linked to humanitarian organisations such as the World Food Program and UNICEF&quot;. Dujarric described the accusations as &quot;dangerous and unacceptable&quot;. Saturday&#39;s raid came with dozens of UN personnel already arrested in recent months in areas controlled by the Iranian-backed group. In mid-September, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Yemen was officially transferred from Sanaa -- the capital held by the Houthi rebels -- to Aden, the interim capital of the internationally recognised government. Since August 31, 2025, 21 UN personnel have been arrested, adding to the 23 current and former members of international NGOs already detained, according to the UN. Ten years of civil war have plunged Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arabian Peninsula, into one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, says the UN.

The UN says Houthi rebels in Yemen are holding 20 staff, including UNICEF’s representative, after raiding its Sanaa compound. The UN condemned the detentions and dismissed rebel accusations of espionage as “dangerous and unacceptable.”

UN says Yemen's Houthis holding 20 of its staff

WASHINGTON: Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday denounced the arbitrary detention of nine more United Nations workers in Yemen by Houthi rebels, along with the seizure of assets and facilities in areas under Houthi control. &quot;Most recently, the Houthi de facto authorities detained nine additional UN personnel, bringing the total number of arbitrarily detained UN staff to 53 since 2021,&quot; spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement. &quot;These actions hinder the UN&#39;s ability to operate in Yemen and to deliver critical assistance,&quot; the statement continued. The UN last month relocated its top humanitarian coordinator in Yemen from the capital Sanaa, which is under Houthi control, to the government-held city of Aden. Yemen&#39;s internationally recognized government established its headquarters in the southern city of Aden after the rebels drove it out of Sanaa in 2014. The move came after the UN in August said the Houthi rebels had seized at least 11 of its employees as part of a wave of detentions after an Israeli strike killed the rebels&#39; prime minister. &quot;The United Nations will continue to work tirelessly, and through all available channels, to secure the safe and immediate release of all arbitrarily detained personnel, as well as the return of UN agency offices and other assets,&quot; Dujarric said.

Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric says actions hinder the UN's ability to operate in Yemen and to deliver critical assistance.

UN chief 'strongly condemns' Houthis detaining nine more UN personnel in Yemen

DUBAI: Yemen&#39;s Houthi rebels early Wednesday claimed the attack that left a Dutch-flagged cargo ship ablaze and adrift in the Gulf of Aden, underlining the range of their weaponry and their campaign targeting shipping over the Israel-Hamas war.&nbsp;The attack on Monday on the Minervagracht was the most serious assault in months by the Houthis in the Gulf of Aden, which is some distance from the Red Sea, where they have sunk four vessels since November 2023.&nbsp;The attack also comes as Israel engages in a new ground offensive targeting Gaza City, as efforts to reach a ceasefire again hang in the balance. Meanwhile, the Mideast also remains on edge after the United Nations reimposed sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program. The Houthis separately threatened to &ldquo;employ all means and instruments available&rdquo; to target several American oil firms.&nbsp;The Houthis fired a cruise missile that targeted and struck the Minervagracht, a Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said.&nbsp;Saree accused the ship&#39;s owners, Amsterdam-based Spliethoff, of violating &ldquo;the entry ban to the ports of occupied Palestine.&rdquo; Initially, the US Navy-overseen Joint Maritime Information Center stated that the Minervagracht had no ties to Israel, but a note released on Tuesday indicated that the center was &ldquo;reviewing vessel affiliations for possible links to Israel.&rdquo;&nbsp;The attack wounded two mariners on board the Minervagracht, whose 19-member crew hailed from the Philippines, Russia, Sri Lanka, and Ukraine. They were forced to evacuate the ship after the strike inflicted substantial damage.&nbsp;A European naval force operating in the region, known as Operation Aspides, said Tuesday the Minervagracht was on fire and adrift after the crew&rsquo;s rescue.&nbsp;The Houthis have launched missile and drone attacks on over 100 ships and on Israel in response to the war in Gaza, saying they were acting in solidarity with the Palestinians. However, some of the group&rsquo;s targets have had tenuous links or no connections at all to Israel.&nbsp;The Houthi attack widens the area of the rebels&rsquo; recent assaults, as the last recorded attack on a commercial vessel in the Gulf of Aden before the Minervagracht came in August 2024.&nbsp;Their attacks over the past two years have upended shipping in the Red Sea, through which about $1 trillion of goods passed each year before the war.&nbsp;The Houthis stopped their attacks on shipping and Israel itself during a brief ceasefire in the war. They later became the target of an intense week-long campaign of airstrikes ordered by US President Donald Trump before he declared a ceasefire had been reached with the rebels.&nbsp;The Houthi campaign against shipping has killed at least eight mariners and seen four ships sunk.&nbsp;Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the Houthis announced that they had imposed sanctions against multiple American oil companies, including Chevron Corp, ConocoPhillips, and ExxonMobil Corp., as well as individuals and two ships. The rebels have issued such designations in the past before launching attacks.

Houthis, Gulf of Aden, attacks of vessels, Yemen

Asia

The attack is the most serious assault in months by the Iranian-backed Houthis in the Gulf of Aden, which is some distance from the Red Sea, where they have sunk four vessels since November 2023.

Articles tagged with "Houthis"

Yemen's rebels arrest three UN staff on charges of spying for Israel

UN says Yemen's Houthis holding 20 of its staff

UN chief 'strongly condemns' Houthis detaining nine more UN personnel in Yemen

Houthis claim missile attack on Dutch-flagged ship in Gulf of Aden